DIY Shell Candles

Pretty DIY shell candles are easy to make and perfect for summer home decor.

Here in Scituate Harbor, we love collecting treasures on the beach. We walk with our two boys and two dogs and hunt for pretty rocks, shells, and sea glass. Most days you can find us at Museum Beach in Scituate Harbor as it isn’t a far walk from our home. I thought it would fun to make candles in the clamshells we’ve found scattered on the beach.

I’m excited to be sharing this project in the Seasonal Simplicity Tour hosted by my friend Krista of The Happy Housie. Today is the first day and we’re all sharing fun DIYs and crafts. See all of my friends’ amazing ideas at the end of the post.

We actually made hand poured candles in glass yogurt pots a few years ago, click here to read the post.

This is a really fun project to do with kids if yours are currently homeschooling due to stay at home orders. My oldest, John, helped me make these. We had the best day making candles and photographing them. He actually made a few in Altoid Tins with mint essential oil added to them. 😉 He was very excited about it!

Making candles can be messy so make sure you work in an area where you don’t mind cleaning up melted wax.

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DIY Shell Candles

What You’ll Need

• Soy Wax Flakes
• Wicks and Center Devices
• Candle Pitcher
• Pot (to create a double boiler)
• Essential Oils (optional)
• Shells – we used clamshells but you can use any shell that has enough depth to make a candle.
• Thermometer

Method

Step 1 – The first step is clean your shells off.

I purchased a set that had soy wax flakes, wicks and centering devices, you can see that here. It came with 10 pounds of soy flakes, 100 wicks and two centering devices.

Step 2 – Next measure out the soy flakes into your candle pitcher.

We used a small yogurt pot to measure out 18 scoops of wax into the candle pitcher. This made three shell candles, a small jar, a large jar and three altoid tins just to give you an idea of how far the wax goes.

Step 3 – Melt the wax. Create a double boiler on your stovetop by placing the candle pitcher into a pot of water.

It’s mesmerizing to watch the wax melt!

Special Tip – if you’re adding essential oils you’ll want to make sure the wax isn’t too hot. Oils have a flash rate so the oil should be approximately 130 degrees. We added Young Living Peppermint Oil to ones for John’s Altoid tins.

Step 4 – Make sure your shells are ready. We used a piece of wood to keep the shells stable and centered the wax wicks. Be careful not to overfill your shell or the wax will go everywhere 😉

You can see how the board is holding the shells in place and also supporting the wicks. As the wax hardens they become white.

Step 5 – Trim your wicks.

Now it’s time to enjoy your shell candles!

They look real pretty on a cafe table in the garden:

Or romantic by the pool:

If you’re a visual learner you might like the video I made about the process:

I love them scattered with lots of shells and leaves. Think how pretty this would look on a tablescape.

These are all treasures we’ve found on the beach and these are easy dip dyed napkins.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what John’s Altoid tin candles look like. Here they are:

It was so fun to teach him how to use my Nikon and give him some styling ideas 😉

Be sure to check out all the amazing summer craft & DIYs ideas below:

Today I’m joined by some of my blogging friends who are also sharing their Summer DIY/Craft ideas! Just click the links below the images to be taken to their post…

How to Seed a New Lawn from Scratch at The Happy Housie
DIY Palm Leaf Shadow Art Box (PB Knockoff) at Craftberry Bush
How to Make an Outdoor Pallet Tabletop at My Sweet Savannah
DIY Outdoor Planter with Candle at Clean & Scentsible
DIY Hanging Patio Garden at Tatertots and Jello

DIY Outdoor Candle Holders at The Handmade Home
DIY Painted Coasters at My 100 Year Old Home
Outdoor Tabletop Herb Garden at Inspiration for Moms
DIY Modern Sun Art at Cassie Bustamante

DIY Shell Candles at Finding Silver Pennies
DIY Beaded Garden Markers at Zevy Joy
Easy DIY Macrame and Driftwood Wall Hanging at Dans Le Lake House
DIY Printed Fern Art at Satori Design for Living

DIY Criss Cross Outdoor Planters at She Gave it a Go
Coastal Coaster DIY at Rambling Renovators
Stamped Spoon Garden Markers at Life is a Party
Summer Porch Updates at Taryn Whiteaker Designs